Author: Jendicecco

  • Valdez, Alaska 61°7′51″N 146°20′54″W

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    Valdez is another beautiful place with interesting history. It was named in the late 1700s after a Spanish Naval Officer, Antonio Valdez y Fernandez Bazan, by a Spanish explorer, Salvador Fidalgo. In 1790, during the Spanish expeditions in the Pacific Northwest, Fidalgo sailed into Prince William Sound & the Cook Inlet before anchoring in Cordova,…

  • Old Harbor, Kodiak 57°11′50″N 153°18′28″W

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    Old Harbor is a small (population ~ 250 [depending on who you ask]), oceanside Alutiiq village on the Southeastern side of Kodiak Island. Established in 1971 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, it is rich in Indigenous culture with strong ties to the subsistence way of life, respect for elders within the community, kinship,…

  • Icy Bay (Tlingit: Ligaasi Áa), Alaska: 59°59’14.39″N; -141°23’14.99″ W

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    Icy Bay is by far one of my favorite places. It is breathtaking to see it for the first time, and once you can appreciate that it lies between sea level and 19K foot mountains with relatively few miles from the beach to the peaks, it becomes even more spectacular! I got to this place…

  • The Shumagin Islands ~ Sand Point, Alaska 55°18′49″N 160°22′29″W

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    The Aleutian Chain, Shumagin Islands & Sand Point, Alaska The Aleutian Islands, or Aleut Islands, are an island chain comprised of 14 main volcanic islands with 55 smaller islands. All but the far western portion of the island chain are owned by the US and the state of Alaska with the far western portion being…

  • Homer, Anchor Point & Seldovia, Alaska

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    Nearing the tip of the Kenai Peninsula, is Anchor Point & Homer with Seldovia, Alaska just across the Kachemak Bay. **************** Below is the landscape overflying the Kenai Peninsula from Soldotna area to Homer & Seldovia ********************* Homer, Alaska 59°38’33.00″ N -151°32’57.84″ W The Halibut Fishing Capital of the World Homer is a quaint little…

  • The Northern Lights

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    Ahhh! The beautiful colors of the aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights, always brings to mind crisp, clear nights and questions of the seen versus unseen. In 1619, the Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei, coined the term “aurora borealis” encompassing the the Roman goddess of dawn – “Aurora” with the Greek God for the north wind…

  • The Harding Icefield (60°01′05″N 149°59′10″W) ~ where ice & the ocean meet

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    The Icefields are located in the Kenai Fjords National Park, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska An icefield is a mass of interconnected alpine glaciers on top of a mountain with protruding summits. They are mostly in higher altitudes and colder climates where there is plenty of precipitation to foster their formation. Icefields are larger than alpine glaciers,…

  • Goodbye Lentils, Hello King Crab Legs!

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    This evening was pretty slow around the village. The day was beautiful with intermittent rain and fog with hazy sunlight coming through the clouds and the sounds of little kids playing across from the clinic in the school yard. I had the windows open most of the day and had just cooked up some lentils…

  • Akhiok – Scenes Around the Village

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    More Sitka black-tailed deer – a mom and her 2 babies – the rainbow developed as I was standing there – magical! I love this scene! Captures some of my favorite things – a cat, magpies, a dirt bike, smoke houses, a boat and fishing gear! This place is a dream! Plane delivering grandkids and…

  • Russian Orthodox Church & Alaska

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    Akhiok Russian Orthodox Church Akhiok Russian Orthodox Church is still used today. The setting for this beautiful structure is adjacent to a cemetery and overlooks Akhiok Bay (essentially the Northern Pacific Ocean) to the East. The sunrise through the cloudy skies and humidity makes for beautify lighting and a setting that anyone would be at…

  • Akhiok School

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    The school here is really neat. One small building for grades K through 12 with two very nice teachers – a couple, originally from Mississippi, who have lived here for the past 4 years and are clearly a wonderful asset to this community! There are also 2 aspiring teachers here – one a local Native…

  • Sunday morning beach combing on Kodiak Island

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    Wild winds and sleet yesterday gave way to a beautiful morning here on the island. The air a nice 44 degrees, gentle breeze from the ocean, and cool beach finds. Also got to see one of my favorite Alaskan birds, the ptarmigan. Moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) are known to wash ashore after storms. That fits…

  • Medical provider sleeping quarters and Alaskan Munchies!

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    What would a travel blog be without some pics of the local food? For those who love salmon lox, here is a new twist! Replace your bagel with sliced apples. Honeycrisp or Granny Smith are my preferred for this, but any apple you like with do. Healthier and nicer to your insulin receptors than a…

  • Sitka black-tailed deer & Mountain Goats on Kodiak Island

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    The Sitka black-tailed deer This little one watched me without moving a smidge for a long time! Native to the wet coastal rainforests of British Columbia and Southeastern Alaska, the Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) now has an expanded ranges with established populations on Kodiak and Afognak islands; Yakutat; and Prince William Sound. Although…

  • Akhiok: Around the Village

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    Weather today gusty & blustery! A wet 44 degrees with cloudy conditions and misty rain intermittent with sleet and slush. Nonetheless, a beautiful day here with plenty to see. Akhiok Airport and Runway No Starbucks or TSA….just the way I like it. View down runway 22 Views Around the Village **** **** **** **** ****…

  • Kodiak to Akhiok

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    PADQ —> PAKH The flight from Kodiak to Akhiok was breathtaking! Flew with a great pilot, Tony, with Vertigo Air in a nice little Cherokee 6. Tony knew the area like that back of his hand and gave me a great tour of the scenes going past. Flight took about an hour. Skies started clear…

  • Arrived! Akhiok, Kodiak Island

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    Today I left the city of Kodiak to head to my first assignment in Akhiok, Alaska! Akhiok, located about 80 miles southwest from the town of Kodiak and 340 miles southwest of Anchorage, is one of several indigenous villages on the Island of Kodiak, and the most remote village on Kodiak Island. Akhiok is located…

  • Jen’s Northern Exposure Travels

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    Welcome to my blog! This blog is to highlight my travels to remote places where I am at times working as a travelling healthcare provider, and others where I am just having fun exploring this beautiful world! Most of my travels are to remote places where vast spaces, beautiful skies, and wildlife abound. As a…